Fort Worth looks to cut down on the number of dollar stores

SAN ANTONIO (Texas News Radio) — The City of Fort Worth has a problem: dollar stores.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram said the Fort Worth city council is looking for ways to limit and cut down on the number of stores like Dollar General and Dollar Tree from cropping up in the city.

A report from the Institute for Self-Reliance states the entire business model of dollar stores is to over-saturate a market to crowd out competitors.

In some areas, especially in more sparsely populated areas, it often means these stores end up being the only place people can go for groceries.

The paper said there are a variety of ways limited dollar stores can be done.

One method is enacting a buffer limiting how close the same type of store can be to each other.  However, that would either not properly address high concentration or put the city in a potential legal battle.

The other method is to require future dollar stores to carry fresh food.

Additionally, the city could consider using zoning measures to achieve their goal or provide more incentives to traditional grocery stores to open shop.

The issue will be addressed further in October.